typography

Robert is , the author of The Elements of Typographic Style. This was the first graphic design book that I fell in love with. Set in the typefaces Minion Pro and Syntax, the layout of this book is so elegantly considered that I find myself turning each page with extreme care. Something I don’t do with most books. While reading his book I learned to respect and really look closely at the forms that make up a letter, each letter’s relationship to its neighbor, and their form on a page. It got me rethinking who I was and what I wanted to do. I had already been working for 8 years as a graphic designer, but had not let go of the idea that I was really a painter, and graphic design was my day job. Becoming a graphic designer in spirit has been a slow process. But I can pinpoint where it began—with his book.

Ellen is . She has written a number of books on design. The only one I have read, so far, is Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors & Students. Where Bringhurst’s book is scholarly and at times hard to read, reading Ellen Lupton’s book can be like having an intense late-night conversation with your best friend.